Goodbye Coffee Pot

We were walking around the neighborhood tonight after dinner at Shake Shack and noticed yet another closure. (Haven't there been enough?) The Coffee Pot, which has been here since before we moved to the neighborhood, apparently closed recently.


We had only been there once, after brunch in mid-November of this year. A thought the coffee was just okay but not great, but we thought we might go back one day to just have a light lunch or some soup while getting coffee. Not going to happen now. It was pretty crowded while we were there but I guess with all the Starbucks in our area, it just couldn't survive. I wonder what will take its place. On our walk, we also noticed all the other storefronts that have changed since our arrival here. So much change. Goodbye to the Coffee Pot.

Mud Pie

The Wednesday custard of the month for January is mud pie. According to the Shake Shack folks, mud pie is vanilla custard with fudge sauce, a touch of coffee, and chocolate cookies.


A's take:
At first, I couldn't quite pin the taste down. It tasted like chocolate milk since it was vanilla custard with chocolate fudge/syrup mixed in. I didn't really get any hint of coffee, and the chocolate cookies were more wafer-ish than cookie. The cookies added some texture to the custard, but in the end they were a bit forgettable. As I ate, I kept trying to figure out what the flavor really was, and then it finally hit me. It tastes just like a Wendy's Frosty. All in all, the custard was tasty since I like Frosty's, but the extra additions (cookies and coffee?) didn't really add much.

M's take:
Like A, I thought this tasted just like a frosty. The cookies, if crumbled, reminded me of the chocolate crunchies that you get in yummy Carvel ice cream cakes. They didn't seem entirely necessary even though I usually like variation in texture in the custards. It was a good custard, but I could easily get a frosty for cheaper and it's healthier (I think).

Mud pie
A's rating: 7.5/10
M's rating: 7/10

Hot Soup Cart

Once the weather starts getting colder, the hot soup carts start appearing all over midtown. They all look fairly similar with their big red hot soup banners, but I don't know if they are run by the same people. Somehow in the past 6 winters I've never tried them, but today, since I was short on time, I decided to start a new block by block challenge and the soup cart was up next. (I skipped the street meat cart because I couldn't tell if they used broccoli.)


The soup cart had about 15 different soups available for purchase. You can get soup in small (12 oz), medium (16 oz) or large (32 oz) sizes. I'm not very good at visualizing the different sizes and how filling they are (even when looking at the cups), so I couldn't decide whether to get the 16 or the 32 oz size. I didn't want to be hungry an hour later from not eating enough for lunch but the 32 oz size just seemed so expensive ($9.50), so I went with the 16 oz size. I found out later that the medium 16 oz size is equal to the large size as Hale and Hearty, so it's good that I picked up the 16 oz.


I got the wedding soup, since I figured that would be a good standard to judge how good their soup is. I like wedding soup and have tried a bunch of them, as I've mentioned before. The soup came with a roll about the size of my hand. I liked the flower design on the roll.


The wedding soup was pretty good. It actually reminded me a lot of the canned wedding soup that I used to get, mostly because the type of pasta used is similar. As for thickness, it was a medium level, not as watery as Europa soups usually are but not quite as densely packed as Hale and Hearty. Flavor was good, and the soup was full of meatballs, pasta, spinach, and carrots. I liked it and would definitely go back to try another soup. Now that I know I don't need to get the large size, it's actually not a bad price for lunch at $5.50. The new block is off to a good start!

Turco

A new restaurant popped up on 9th avenue recently called Turco. It opened up in the old Golden Chicken and Ribs spot that closed about a month or so ago. Turco is a Turkish/Mediterranean grill specializing in falafel, shawarma, and kebabs. I opted for the falafel plate, but I think the guy preparing it didn't care/understand.

Plates, according to their menu, come with rice, salad, and whatever topping you choose. I first had a sandwich made, and when I asked, the cashier guy questioned and the response was something like, "sandwich, plate, yeah." So they made me another. This time it came in a plastic container, but it had no rice. Oh well, I'll deal.

Falafel Plate
The plate came with 4 falafel balls, pita, lettuce, onions, red cabbage, tomatoes, pickles, and hummus. The hummus was better than most of the hummus that I had eaten before, and the falafel was tasty, but it could have stood to have fried a little longer. It wasn't as crispy as I normally prefer, but again, the flavor was excellent. My guess is that they rushed the order out since I was waiting so long and they felt bad that they messed up the first time. Overall the flavors were good. I would definitely go back, and I'm intrigued by the shawarmas.

Rhode Island Clam Chowder

Along with my mozzarella avocado tomato sandwich from Hale and Hearty today, I also tried a new soup (new to me, anyway) - Rhode Island "clear" clam chowder. Back in undergrad, I had known this clear variation as "Boston" clam chowder from our dining hall labels instead of "Rhode Island" but wikipedia tells me it is commonly known as Rhode Island clam chowder. I love all the types of clam chowder that I've had - New England, Manhattan, and Rhode Island/Boston - so I opted for this instead of the Italian wedding soup I originally went to get.


Hale and Hearty's Rhode Island clam chowder consists of clear broth, minced clams, hearty vegetables, fresh herbs and bacon. (The Boston clam chowder I had in college did not have bacon, if I remember correctly.) The clams were a little chewy but not too bad. Some of the pieces like the one near the top of this cup looked like shrimp at first. The vegetables consisted of carrots, celery, onions and something crunchy which I thought was water chestnuts (but don't have an ingredient list to confirm). I liked the crunch and also how packed the soup was with vegetables. Healthy to counter the bacon! As for the bacon, it was relatively light and didn't overwhelm the flavor of the chowder which was nice. I would get this again.

Gastrobus

Two years ago today, it was our last day on vacation in Los Angeles and we had a late night flight back home. After checking out of the hotel, we stopped by the Los Feliz Farmers Market to try out the Gastrobus, one of the few trucks out on a Sunday and one we wanted to try for their fresh approach to ingredients.


There were a lot of things on the menu that sounded good. We especially liked that on Sundays they buy everything that day from the farmers market and then put together the menu. After much deliberating we decided to pick two dishes.


The first thing we tried was the yam hashbrown. We weren't sure what to expect since hash browns are usually fried, and were pleasantly surprised that it was like a spiced mashed yam, served with caramelized onions, spiced yogurt and cilantro. It was creamy and a little sweet, and the onions and greens added a nice freshness to the dish. The yogurt was cool and added tartness to the mix. It was delicious and in serious contention for my top 10 dishes of 2010. We were really glad we got there when we did as they were sold out of this by the time we finished eating.


We also decided to get some nice healthy veggies and opted for the yu choy with garlic confit and lemon. These were tasty (and healthy) and garlicky. They were stirfried well and still crisp, and you could tell how fresh they were. A remembers these more clearly than I do. For me, the yam hashbrowns stole the show.


We loved our visit to the Gastrobus and wished we had something like that in NYC. If only we had more time in LA...

Mozzarella Avocado and Tomato

The January sandwich of the month at Hale and Hearty is the mozzarella, avocado and tomato sandwich. It consists of fresh mozzarella, avocado and ripe tomato, topped with baby arugula and a zesty lemon aioli (according to the website). The sandwich is on honey wheat pullman bread.


I really liked the mozzarella/avocado/tomato part of the sandwich. It was juicy and flavorful. The lemon aioli wasn't very zesty, but did add a nice bit of citrus. I wasn't a big fan of the bread as it's a little stiff and the ingredients run out before the bread, but I'm also just partial to sandwiches on Hale and Hearty's ciabatta square. It's a solid sandwich of the month, but I probably won't get it again as I like my other favorites there better. Can't wait to see what the February sandwich is (since I'm hoping to try all the monthly specials).

A Tale of Two Lunches

Last week we had a training session over lunch. The place that catered the lunch had done some of our other lunches before, and I thought their sandwiches were usually better than some of the other places. Perhaps they were having a bad day or perhaps they just gave us a crappy selection of sandwiches this time, but lunch was not very good at all. (I was thankful for the kosher potato salad.)


I had a half chicken wrap (which wasn't bad but just kind of boring), and a half turkey avocado sandwich. On the turkey avocado, the white bread was dry and almost inedible, the sandwich was covered in mayo (which was too much mushiness when combined with the avocado), and it turned out to have bacon which wasn't apparent from the first look I took. All of the salads also had broccoli which meant I couldn't eat them. What happened to the really good sandwiches from last time? Again, thank goodness for potato salad.

But it makes me wonder why we can't have lunches like today's all the time. For our group lunches, we make a special effort not to get sandwiches. It's probably a little more expensive, but it's so much happier. A disappointing lunch (even if free) doesn't really do much to make someone happy, but a tasty break in the middle of the day could really boost morale! I think today's lunch was the Middle Eastern menu from Food Trends. I've had the Greek buffet before (it was good), but this was my first time trying this one and I was excited.


I got some falafel (it's not Taim but it wasn't bad), small dollops of hummus and tzatziki, and heaping piles of Israeli chopped salad and chicken shawarma. I may have gotten seconds (and a snack for later) consisting of shawarma and chopped salad. I really loved all the spices in the shawarma and the refreshing crispness of the salad.


I was much, much happier with today's lunch. Let's hope future lunches have more tasty food!

My C1 Habit

I have written about a lot of sandwiches on here but there is one sandwich that I probably eat more regularly than any other combination. I haven't posted about it here although I've mentioned it a few times, so it's probably time that I officially introduce you to the C1 sandwich at Lenny's.


The C1 sandwich (the first option on the cold cut menu) consists of cracked pepper turkey, pastrami seasoned turkey breast, jalapeno monterey jack cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, and capers (although I order it without capers). You can get it on any type of bread that Lenny's offers but I usually go with a whole wheat roll (no extra charge).


It seems fitting that my "regular" sandwich was the first sandwich I ate by choice in 2012. (I had two sandwich halves from someplace else which is usually not bad at a work lunch this week but they were not very good at all and it was really disappointing.) I love how this sandwich has so much flavor with the seasoned turkey and the jack cheese, and the refreshing crunchiness of the lettuce, tomatoes and red onions is great. It's also not thin and bready like a Subway sandwich. It's just a really satisfying sandwich. I don't think it needs the capers. They add some sourness, but I think the sandwich is pretty darn good without it. If you like capers a lot, you might want to try it with it.


I've tried a lot of sandwiches over the years - some good, some bad - but this seems to be the one I get the most. Part of this is because there's a Lenny's shop very close to our apartment but we also just really like the (reasonably priced) sandwiches. Any recommendations for other good (and somewhat healthy) sandwiches?

Loucoumades

Note: We wrote most of this before our year-end posts, so some of this might repeat what we said there about loucoumades.

After our filling breakfast at the hotel, we drove toward the interior of the island of Naxos to visit some of the small towns and the Temple of Demeter. Following the long, winding roads through the mountains, we ended up at a small town called Halki and decided to stop to take a look around.


Halki was a cute small town. There were a few shops including the Citron distillery and some craft shops, and a couple of places to eat including Regina Rose Amat which looked like the place to go for some light snacks. They had sandwiches, crepes, sweet snacks, and the item which caught our eye - loucoumades.


Loucoumades are like Greek donut holes. Deep fried dough balls soaked in honey, cinnamon and sugar. We had hoped to try loucoumades while in Greece so there was no question what we would get at Regina Rose Amat.

A had eaten loucoumades previously in his time in Illinois at a Greek Orthodox Church festival, and he was definitely looking forward to having the real thing in Greece.


We thought we had ordered the small portion but it looked like we got the large. It was only 1 euro more, so no complaints from us, especially not after trying the loucoumades. They were perfectly fried and chewy. The local honey and cinnamon were the perfect toppings. It was such a sweet delicious snack. Enjoying it in the shade in a quaint Greek Island town made the experience seem so surreal. It was relaxing, and it was the perfect way to spend part of our afternoon.


It's a bit of a trek to get to Halki if you're staying in the main section of Naxos (or one of the beach towns near Chora), but we definitely found the small towns to be a highlight of our trip. If you find yourself in Halki, you can't go wrong stopping by for some of these loucoumades!

A Pure and Fresh Start

The first thing we ate in 2012 (yes, it's a week later, but better late than never) was the steamed fresh roll from Pure Thai Cookhouse. (Apparently Pure Thai Shophouse (one of our previous visits here) had to change their name to Cookhouse but we didn't even know that until a few days later. Chipotle's new Asian concept (which came out after them) is the reason but unclear whether it was forced or just requested, so no judgment on Chipotle from us (yet).) We were looking for something healthy and tasty, and this was perfect.


The steamed fresh roll consisted of pork sausage, cucumber, smoked tofu, and bean sprouts in a rice wrapper, steamed and topped with bits of crab meat. On the side were some peppers and scallions. The roll was drizzled and soaked in a tamarind reduction.


It was really, really good. It reminded me of something I had before but I still can't place it in my memory. The scallions and cucumber were a bit like eating Peking duck, since I eat the buns without the duck, but I don't think that's the memory I was looking for. Maybe someday I'll place it.

The roll was a good combination of flavors and textures, with the dense sausage contrasting well with the light and crunchy bean sprouts and cucumber. The crab was sweet and flavorful. Despite there not being much crab in the roll, you could definitely taste it. The sauce also added a nice sweetness, while the other ingredients brought the savory flavors. We really enjoyed it and would definitely get it again!

Even More Goodbyes

I feel like more restaurants than usual closed (or announced imminent closures) at the end of this year. That might not be true, but, if it's the same number, it seems like this year it has affected more of the restaurants we have been to in the past. Walking around the city this weekend, it seems like there are empty storefronts everywhere for rent. Kind of sad.

We already mentioned the Carrabbas closing (which seemed to kick off the trend), as well as Tillie's, Nooi and Matsuri. We went over to Elsewhere in our neighborhood in their last week of business for a goodbye dinner. There's probably more that I'm forgetting. And today I saw on Midtown Lunch that the BCD Tofu House in Koreatown also closed down? What is going on?! Can restaurants we have been to and like please stop closing? I just can't believe they're all closed...

Fish Roasted With Lime

Last January, we posted about our "cookbook project" where we would attempt to make a new recipe from one of our many cookbooks at least once a month. Our January recipe was delicious... and then we never did it again. For New Years Eve, we decided on a quiet night at home instead of going out. Since A decided to cook something new for dinner, we were able to close out the year with one more cookbook project!

December's recipe was Fish Roasted with Lime from the "Best Ever Greek" cookbook we got from my parents for Christmas this year. It was a really healthy way to end the year. Alongside the fish A made brussels sprouts with chestnuts and sage, something he's made a few times before.

To make the fish, you need:

Some of the ingredients for the fish dish
- Fish fillets (they recommend 2 lb, 4 oz of white fish fillets like flounder; we had frozen flounder, no idea how much this cost but I estimate $15?)
- Salt and pepper (we already had this, $0)
- 1 lime ($0.33)
- Olive oil (we already had this, $0)
- Large onion ($0.82)
- Garlic cloves ($0.25)
- Pickled jalapeno chilies (can cost $1.50, used about half, $0.75)
- Fresh cilantro ($0.50)

The fish part of the meal cost around $18. The brussels sprouts portion of the meal cost about $6.40. At a total of around $25 for 2 people, it's much cheaper than anything we would have gotten eating out on New Years Eve when all the prices are jacked up.

Cooking the brussels sprouts portion of dinner
To make the fish, you season the fish, heat up the onion/garlic mixture, put the fish in a roasting pan with the mix, chilies and cilantro, roast it in the oven for about 20 minutes, and that's it. A said it was a pretty straightforward recipe.

Finished product - Fish roasted with lime with a side of brussels sprouts with chestnuts and sage
We liked the fish. It would have come out better with fresh fish instead of the fish from our freezer but we are on a mission to empty our freezer of all the old stuff we have stockpiled there, and this allowed us to finish off those flounder fillets. (The "best by" date was 10/2008...) The onion, garlic, jalapeno and cilantro mixture was really fantastic. The fish was a little fishy in parts and had been freezerburned, but the relish topping did a great job covering that up.

We were confused as to why this recipe was in a Greek cookbook. It didn't taste Greek to us at all, at least not anything like the food we had in Greece. If I didn't know this came from a Greek cookbook, I would have assumed it was from a Mexican cookbook. I think it's due to the jalapenos and lime, which I associate much more with Mexican cooking, and have never had in Greek food. That was just odd.

We would consider making this again, but we would definitely not use flounder that was at its best over 3 years ago!

January Custard Calendar

Happy New Year! The January custard calendar is up. As we do every month, here are some thoughts.


Monday - cinnamon cream cheese - my first reaction was one of disgust. I have no idea what cinnamon cream cheese tastes like, but was not sure I wanted to find out. Cream cheese custard? Now I'm wondering if we need to try this just because of how different it is.

Tuesday - chocolate hazelnut - always a good combination, but I think this is the same thing they've had before when they called it gianduja instead (why the name change?!). We've mentioned gianduja before as one of our favorites but have never actually reviewed it. I guess we'll just have to go on a Tuesday to get chocolate hazelnut... so hard...

Gianduja from last January
Wednesday - mud pie - I don't think we've ever had this although we've wanted to try it.

Thursday - honey roasted peanut - another one we haven't tried. I'm not a big peanut fan but I think they've also had this before. Maybe we should finally try it.

Friday - red velvet - pretty sure we tried this one and that it came with cake inside (we love those), but can't find a photo of it. Maybe we'll have to try that one again too... also so hard...

Saturday - salted caramel - we tried this one in July and found it more caramel than salted caramel. Would be willing to try it again if they've changed the mixture, but we were pretty disappointed last time.

Sunday - thin mint - we tried this last February and generally liked it. It was just chocolate with some mint mixed in. We gave it an 8 at the time but I'm not sure it deserved that high a rating since we're not even sure we want to go back this month to get more. But I guess it was good at the time?

Any idea what cinnamon cream cheese might taste like? Trying to get the courage to try it... Maybe it'll taste like frosting?

A's Top 10 Food Memories of 2011

2011 was a hard year to peg for "top food memories" for me. Sadly we didn't do anything overly remarkable outside of our trip to Europe, and I think that's reflected a bit in my choices. Aside from the 6 items from that trip that are listed, I had at least 5 others that were maybes that just missed the cut. I may add pictures of the dishes later, but right now I haven't prepared that. So in random order, here are my top 10 food memories from 2011!

Tzitzikas Salad from Tzitzikas kai Mermigas
This salad was part of our first full meal in Greece, and it was such a fresh and delicious salad. So much of our trip stands out with regards to food we ate, but this was the start of our adventure, and it also was really healthy and really tasty.

Mushroom Pie from Ariston
A rich, buttery, flaky crust on both sides surrounding garlic and butter sauteed mushrooms. If the thought of that doesn't make your mouth water, you probably shouldn't read this blog anymore. No, I'm serious, just leave now. Ariston is a well known bakery in Athens, and of all of the pies we tried, this was my favorite. The crust was similar with most of the pies that they offered, but the mushroom filling was just amazing. A little buttery, a little garlicky, and unbelievably moist.

Mercimek Kofte from Antalia
It's not a stretch to say that M and I order in a lot. M orders more than I do due to her work schedule, but we both do order from time to time. One thing that we both fell in love with was the Mercimek Kofte from Antalia. It's a kofte made out of red lentils, and it is unbelievable. The first time M ordered it, she used all of her will power to not finish eating it all and actually save me some. Since that time, she has never saved a single bite for me, but we've ordered it together so that I've been able to eat it more.

Fish from Kounelas
We've had a lot of fresh fish, but this was something different. It was a simple preparation of being grilled over a wood-fire grill seasoned with salt, pepper, olive oil, and lemon. It was such a fresh and tasty preparation, and the fish was excellent. It was our last meal in Mykonos, and it was the perfect end to that leg of our trip.

Stuffed Vegetables from Lefteris
Lefteris is a restaurant in the small village of Apiranthos on the island of Naxos. You need to rent a car to get there, and it's a long and winding mountain drive to get there. But it's totally worth it. The food is extremely fresh since it's all grown in the garden just downstairs from the actual restaurant. The stuffed vegetables were literally picked that morning, and you could taste the freshness. While I doubt we'd ever make that drive again, we're so glad we did it this time to have that great meal.

Chicken and Tomatoes in Balsamic sauce from Homemade
This may not have been the greatest dish ever cooked, but it was special to me. I made this at home, and it was a tasty dish in my opinion. This was the first dish that we made out of the cookbooks we received from our wedding, and we were very excited about it.

Loucoumades from Regina Rose Amat
Loucoumades are Greek pastries that are made of fried dough and soaked in honey and cinnamon. They're round balls, but they're not like little donut holes like you'd fine here in the US. They're light and chewy with a good bite to them. I've had loucoumades before here in the states, but this little store in Halki specialized in them. They tasted incredible. They had the perfect texture, the honey was layered perfectly, and they were a great snack on our drive to Apiranthos. What made this even better was that we ate these while relaxing in the shade of a quaint little street in the middle of a small town. The atmosphere was fantastic, and it just felt so relaxing.

Pappardelle Bolognese from Babbo
M and I fell in love with pasta bolognese after our trip to Amsterdam in 2010. We had one of our many "versary" dinners at Babbo, and this was one of the dishes that we got as part of the pasta tasting menu. It was a rich meat sauce with veal, pancetta, and proscuitto. The tomato sauce was balanced and really absorbed a lot of the flavor from the meat.

Crab Toast from abc kitchen
This dish was part of our wedding anniversary dinner so it already had a special place in our hearts. The crab toast is something that is highly recommended at abc kitchen so we had to try it. It's loaded with sweet, succulent crab, and it has just the right amount of citrus from the dollop of lemon aioli on top. What made this meal even more amazing was that, in the middle of it, Chef Jean-George Vongerichten came in for a meal with his family, and his table was right next to ours.

Naxian Potato Salad from Meze Meze
Naxos is known for growing some of the best potatoes in the world. At our first meal at Meze Meze, we ordered way too much food as usual. However, one of the highlights of this meal was the Naxian Potato Salad. Loaded with onions, tomatoes, green peppers, cucumbers, a local cheese called xinomizithra, and obviously boiled potatoes. The salad was loaded with flavor and freshness, and it had just the right amount of creaminess and saltiness from the cheese. It was a great dish, and it stood out even though we ordered 3 or 4 potato dishes and had to roll ourselves home.

M's Favorite Food Memories of 2011

Another year in the books, another year of good eats. It's always hard to narrow down all the good food we had over the past year to 10 memories but I think in the end I'm usually happy with my choices (see last year's favorite food memories here). After making some difficult cuts, I came up with the following 10. Looking over the list for some overall trends, some things were not a surprise (not many desserts or sweet items on the list) but some things were a surprise (not much from food fairs or food trucks). So, here's my 10 (in no particular order):

1. Crab toast from ABC Kitchen


We went to ABC Kitchen for our anniversary dinner this year (wedding anniversary, not the other 4 we celebrate). We got the crab toast with lemon aioli and it was fantastic. The toast was crunchy, but not too hard to bite. The crab was light and flaky, and full of flavor. The lemon aioli tied it all together with a nice light creaminess. We would definitely get this again. I know we didn't blog about it, but ABC Kitchen is a fantastic restaurant committed to local and organic ingredients and we highly recommend a visit (or more than one).

2. Santorini salad from Anemomilos


In May, we went on our (delayed) honeymoon to Greece and had a fantastic time. On our last day in Santorini, we were seeking a long leisurely lunch before heading to the airport, so we went to Anemomilos, a hotel just down the block from where we were staying, and ate at their outdoor restaurant. It was fantastic, a little cheaper than the touristy places in the heart of Oia and it had really delicious food.

We went for a "greatest hits of Santorini" sampling at lunch, getting the Santorini salad, fava spread, dolmades and tomatokeftedes (fried tomato balls). The salad was incredible. Santorini is known for their cherry tomatoes, and this salad consisted of tons of cherry tomatoes along with cucumbers, green peppers, red onions, capers, and a local Santorini cheese. The salad was light, refreshing, fresh and fantastic. It's been over 6 months since our trip but I still can't stop talking about how good it was.

3. Mushroom pie from Ariston


We previously blogged about our love for the pies at Ariston, a small but popular bakery in the heart of Athens. While the signature cheese pies were great and all of the vegetable pies we tried were also tasty, the mushroom pie stands out for its buttery crust and rich mushroom inside. I think any visit we make to Athens will include a trip to this excellent bakery.

4. Aushak from Ariana Afghan Kebab Restaurant


This year wasn't the first time we have had the aushak from Ariana, but this particular time is such a vivid memory. Aushak is an Afghan dish of boiled dumplings filled with leeks and spices, topped with yogurt and a spicy meat sauce. It's always tasty when we get it but this time was special. It was a Friday night and I had just been released from the hospital about an hour earlier, having been there since Tuesday morning when I was admitted with an extremely high fever and severe allergic reaction to antibiotics. I had survived for a week on mostly mediocre hospital food and had very little appetite (rare for me, even when I'm sick). I decided I wanted something small when A ordered dinner and got the appetizer size of the aushak. It was amazing. I loved the intensity and diversity of the flavor and the spices, and I felt like a real person eating real food again. I also felt like my sense of taste was more sensitive after so many days of no flavor food that I noticed every nuance in the complex flavors, and I felt more aware of what I was eating than I had for a long time. I will always remember this meal for being the first moment when I knew that I was on the road to recovery.

5. Bulgogi slider by Danji from Taste of Korea truck


We still haven't been to Danji (always crowded). But in the spring, the Taste of Korea truck spent a few weeks on the road giving out food from Korean restaurants in the city. I went on the first day when they were serving Danji's slider (despite just having a piece of my eyelid cut out and barely being able to see; the sacrifices I will make for good food). Danji's bulgogi beef slider (also on their regular menu) consists of the bulgogi, spicy pickled cucumber, and scallion salsa on a buttery slider bun. It was so good. I really hope we can try to get to the restaurant this year.

The slider from Danji is also representative of one of my favorite general food memories of the year - free stuff! I love all the opportunities for free food in the city, especially since sometimes it introduces you to things you've never had before, but might love (like the Danji slider). Over the past year, I've gotten for free (and clearly have not blogged about them all): sliders, cupcakes, hot dogs, ice cream, whoopie pies, dumplings, iced tea, Asian rice bowls, Turkish tacos, Korean tacos, pizza, a panini, energy drinks and a French sampler platter. One huge trend this year has been discounts and deals (with the proliferation of Groupon, LivingSocial, Scoutmob, Gilt City, Google Offers, etc), and what discount is better than free?

6. The Haribo section at Edeka


I wasn't looking forward to the end of our honeymoon, but I was definitely looking forward to the Munich airport, which we planned to explore during our layover. We had an excellent meal at Airbrau, the beer garden in the airport, and we also took part in one of my favorite activities in other countries - visiting the grocery store. Since we were in Germany, I was hoping there would be lots of Haribo candy, since, as I mentioned last year with the Smurfs, I love Haribo. I was not disappointed in our visit to Edeka, and in fact, there was more Haribo candy than I could have ever imagined. (I had not yet seen the video of the factory store in Bonn.) I was able to get a tub of smurfs, sour mangoes, juice-filled gold bears, all variations of gold bears, jelly beans and so much more. I completely lit up when I saw the giant Fruchtgummi sign and row after row of my Haribo favorites.

7. Stuffed vegetables from Cafe Lefteris


Our favorite place on our Greek trip was the island of Naxos. A little quieter and less touristy than the other places we visited, we really felt like we got more of a sense of the island, its culture and its people. (I put this list in no particular order, but Naxos comes up a lot in this second half.) One day we drove all over the island and visited the town of Apiranthos, thought by many to be one of the most beautiful towns on the island. We had also heard about a great place to eat called Cafe Lefteris. Once we finally found it, we stopped in for an early dinner filled with delicious fresh vegetables. Naxos is one of the most fertile islands in the Cyclades, and you could tell how fresh the vegetables were. One thing we love about Greek food is taking something that is really simple and just making it so well. This was the case with these stuffed vegetables, the special of the day. Fresh vegetables stuffed with rice, simple but incredible.

8. Loucoumades from Regina Rose Amat


On our way to Apiranthos, we stopped at two other small towns, Halki and Filoti. In Halki, we ventured into the town square and got a snack from Regina Rose Amat - loucoumades. Loucoumades are Greek donut balls with honey, cinnamon and sugar. These were sweet, delicious and the perfect snack.

9. Mercimek kofte from Antalia


Earlier this year, a new Turkish place opened near my office called Antalia. The second time I ordered from them, I decided to get mercimek kofte (red lentil patties). I thought they would be fried patties, but instead they were a cold appetizer of mashed lentils. The lentils are mixed with scallions, parsley and pepper salsa, and served with lettuce, tomato and cucumber. The combination was so good that I have gotten it every time I've ordered from Antalia since then. It's an addiction.

10. Naxian potato salad from Meze Meze


Another thing Naxos is known for is its potatoes. I'm not really sure what makes a potato a "good" potato, but there was just something about the potatoes we ate in Naxos at Meze Meze, a restaurant near the harbor in Naxos Town/Chora, that was just better. At our first dinner at Meze Meze, there were potatoes everywhere. We got fresh Naxian fried potatoes with kefalotiri local cheese, the octopus special which also came with fries and a Naxian potato salad. The Naxian potato salad consisted of boiled potato, tomato, pepper, onion, caper, olives, oregano, and xinomizithra local cheese. It was incredibly tasty and, as I said, something about the potatoes in Naxos was just better than other ordinary potatoes.

It's probably obvious that the majority of my choices came from our honeymoon, but the food we had was incredible and made such an impression on me. I can't wait to see what 2012 will bring!

IGK Rice Box

At some point I finally decided to try something other than the noodles at IGK. Every day I kept seeing this "weekly special" for their Jae Yook Bok Eum. It was funny to me since this weekly special was the special since I started coming here. As it was, I had tried their noodles plenty of times, and I felt it would be a good idea to try one of their rice dishes.



Jae Yook Bok Eum
The spicy pork is very tasty and is heavily flavored by gochujang, a traditional Korean spicy/sweet sauce. It's cooked with long-cut scallions, mushrooms, carrots, and is finished off with some sliced scallions, sesame seeds, and a pinch of pickled ginger and pickled radishes. If you don't know what gochujang tastes like I don't know that I can do it justice in words. I would just recommend seeing if you can try some of it at some point to see if you like it. This dish was good enough to me that I got it again right before the holidays. I'd be interested to see if it's still a "weekly" special after the new year.

Nissaki Beach is Awesome

On our first morning in Naxos, we went down to the dining room in the lobby of our hotel, the Nissaki Beach Hotel, and saw a breakfast area about the same size as that of the Rochari. But it quickly became apparent, as they took us on a tour of the dining area, that the options at this breakfast were nothing like what we found at the Rochari.


After passing the coffee and tea area on the left side of the buffet, you hit a long table with a bunch of both sweet and savory options. There were multiple plates of cheese, sliced meats, a bowl of Greek salad, eggs, hot dog pieces with peppers and onions, a marble cake, spanakopita and other pies, toast with tuna and capers and a quiche. The right side of the U-shaped buffet had cereal, yogurt, bread and pastries, fruit and other sweet options. The breakfast offering was plentiful and incredible. We were so happy.


A got a sampling for his first plate (spinach pie, quiche, hot dog pieces, Greek salad, Greek cheese). In addition, they brought out from the kitchen some freshly squeezed orange juice. It was so good.


In addition to his plate, A (shockingly) also got Greek yogurt with honey and walnuts.


M's first plate was very similar to A's - spinach pie, hot dog pieces, toast with tuna, quiche, Greek salad, turkey slice and cheese. M was so happy with all of these savory options. And it didn't just look good. It was so, so tasty.


With all of these delicious options, it was hard to choose what to get for plate #2. M got more Greek salad and hot dog pieces as these were a little bit healthier and they were really good. If we ate more rich Greek pies and cheeses, they might have had to roll us out of the dining room.


M also got some yogurt with fruit salad (strawberries, apples and bananas). Yogurt with fruit is definitely her preferred combination.


The breakfast buffet at the hotel was, like the Rochari, included as part of our room rate. The difference was that there were so many different items to choose. It was so good that we couldn't wait to see what they would have the next day! Even if they repeated the exact same slate of dishes, we would be happy. There were so many good savory options and we couldn't wait to get some more. After filling up on breakfast, we ended up skipping lunch during our sightseeing. So much good food!

Cuban Send-Off

The last work lunch of the year felt like such a big decision. After eating at so many good places over the past year, what place should get the distinction of being my last lunch of the year? I was originally planning to walk over to a food truck on the east side but in the end decided to stay closer to the office. I had to choose between taking a long walk at lunch or enjoying the almost 50 degree (!) weather by leaving early to go for a run. As I'm quite out of shape, the run won.


Thinking about the places close to the office, the choice for my last lunch of the year became clear. What better way to close out the year than to go to the same place that I went for my first lunch of the year? With that plan, I headed over to Sophie's Cuban and got another baked chicken sandwich. Sadly, this was my least favorite of the sandwiches I got from Sophie's this year as the mayo was a bit too salty and there was a massive piece of chicken skin on one side of the sandwich. But the green hot sauce was just as good as always.

How did you celebrate your last (work) lunch of 2011? We're currently working on our 10 favorite food memories of 2011 posts and will hopefully get those up by the end of the year. Can't wait to share our memories with you!